Jackson's Other Lives
by adversary2113
Summary: See what Jackson's life could be like as an ancient spirit whisks him from one Earth to another in search of a different life. See what it would be like as he becomes Noah from George Lopez, Sam from Purgatory House,and an actor on DK.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned within unless specified.**

**Rated M for sexual content, language and violence. Drug references. Slash warning,**

**This one's for the fans of our show as well as anyone who's ever wondered the question " What if?"**

**Notice: The events herein take place during the Episode " Scratch".**

**Jackson's Other Lives**

**Prologue**

**The rain beat down on the seven youths from the Hartwell Academy. The winds had died down for the moment, but the steadily increasing lightning did not bode well. It shook the earth with its thunderous fury, the random light from it briefly illuminating the face of Cody Jackson, tears trickling down as the anguished young man spoke to the young woman he knew loved him.**

**He was finishing telling them about the fight with his gang. About ho Big j had been stabbed protecting him and how Dan Rosenthal, his supervision officer was itching to send him to Paso Robles as the prime suspect in the stabbing. The others were looking at him with mixed emotions ranging from disbelief to sympathy. It was still too soon to say whose loyalties lay where.**

" **I can't go back to that hellhole. You don't ever want to know what goes on at a place like that." he was saying, fear and revulsion plain in his baritone voice, " I'd do anything to keep from going back. You have no idea." he repeated, staring at the ground.**

**Nathan McHugh spoke up. The rain dripped from his curly russet hair into his bright blue raincoat as he spoke, "What happened to you there Jackson? If you'd just tell us why you're so scared, we might understand."**

**Melissa Wu pleaded with him as well, " We aren't judging you, we aren't. But you have to see why it scares some of us when you say you'd do anything to keep from going back. Please, " she was begging him now, tears and rain mixing on her attractive face as put a gentle hand on his trembling face.**

**He almost broke down and confessed everything to her. Of them all, Mel had been the most steadfast in her friendship to him. He was attracted to her and knew without any doubt she felt that way towards him as well. But the echoes of his past crashed in his head as loudly as the storm did in his ears.**

_**I can't do it. It'd kill her to find out I'm not being straight with her. Literally, in my case. How do I tell a girl that's crazy about me that I'm bisexual. And how in hell do I tell her I was nearly raped in Paso Robles because of it. **_**Jackson couldn't take it any more. His heart was racing, his tears seemed endless as he did the only thing he could think of doing.**

**He whirled and ran into the maelstrom, leaving the other six standing there.**

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**Jackson ran until he couldn't find the strength to move another muscle. He had no idea how long he had ran or how far he'd gotten from the others. All he knew as no matter how far he had run, he couldn't out run his own thoughts.**

_**Ok smart guy, now what'll you do. It was bad enough when Eric blabbed about the damn tape to begin with. Of course, it would've helped if my stupid ass hadn't put my worst secret on it to begin with. I must've been outta my freakin' mind to do something like that, **_**he thought bitterly.**

_**I have to get out of this storm. The ay it's picking back up, it's going to get really bad in a few minutes, **_**he thought, trying to look around. The rain was making it difficult, but the thunderbolts were giving him just enough to keep from running headlong into the many, many trees, at least. After a moment, he thought he saw a spot to hide in, a small hole in the nearby hill side. It looked marginally safer than being caught in this monsoon. He summoned the last dregs of his energy and loped off towards it.**

**A few minutes later, he was in the entrance to the small cave. He stepped far enough in to keep the downpour off of his backpack. He took it off his shoulders and swiftly dug the flashlight he'd taken from the camp out. He flicked it on and took a look about his potential shelter. He felt ice crawl down his spine as he looked around at the not so deserted cave.**

**There were ancient, faded paintings on the narrow walls. They liberally covered the back side of the thirty square foot as well. They looked vaguely familiar to the tall teen, who had been interested in all things Polynesian since getting in with his mainly Samoan gang the year before. Not that he had any hope of deciphering the murals.**

**He smiled to himself as he imagined what Lex Marin, the child prodigy of the bunch would have made of this find. He was Jackson's favorite of the group, aside from Mel. **_**He'd probably give a lecture on ancient island cultures or something like that. It's almost scary how much of a polymath he is. **_**Jackson missed the irony of his own thought; polymath wasn't a term most teenagers used regularly unless they were reasonably smart themselves.**

**He rubbed his hands over the closest paintings. He as surprised at the smoothness of the wall. Suddenly, he felt one of the images sink in under his light touch. He jumped back, startled already, but he nearly took off screaming when two more things happened almost simultaneously. Lightning blasted the entrance to the cave, causing a rockslide that trapped him inside and then, fear and shock clenched at his guts as a eerie light began to glow from the images he had just jumped back from.**

**He thought he had completely lost it when a disembodied voice began to speak to him.**

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" **Do not fear me Cody Jackson. I came in response to your summons. I have felt the fear in your heart. The desire to flee. The hope of making a ne life burned within you like a wildfire only a day ago but no, it is like a dying ember." the eerie voice said.**

**Jackson was pale faced an terrified as he spoke back, feeling ridiculous, " Who or what are you? And how do you know anything about me?" . He stood there, trying desperately to see the source of the voice.**

" **I have been a part of this island chain since the great Tagaloa carved the Earth from the Rock. I have been called many names by the peoples here, but most often , I am called Tagaloa-savali, the Messenger. And I have rested here for almost three thousand of your years, except for a few moments hen someone whose need is great enters may cave."**

"**How do you know about me?" Jackson asked again. His shaking had slowly subsided while Tagoloa-savali spoke. The resonant voice seemed to fill his body with warmth whenever it spoke. It was hard to conceive of something that sounded so serene being dangerous. " And what do you want?" he asked respectfully.**

**The air seemed to fill with laughter. Not mocking, but gentle.**

" **It has always been the way of the gods to test humans . And to help the rare worthy ones. I sensed the regret in you . I also felt your great desire to begin a ne life and felt it nearly die ith the actions of this day. I am willing to grant you a boon, for you have willingly given your safet to help others since you arrived here. It deserves a better reward than a self imposed exile."**

" **What kind of boon?" Jackson asked cautiously. Damned if he'd trust s self proclaimed "go" he'd just met. He shook his head hen he realized what he'd just thought. **_**That lightning must've hit me and I'm laying on the dirt hallucinating this!**_

**The laughter boomed like thunder for several seconds. " As one of your favorite writers once said, " What fools these mortals be!" Tagaloa-savalisaid with mirth.**

**Jackson had never wet himself before, but the temptation as getting strong now as he realized that hallucination or not, this entity could hear his every thought.**

**The voice of the Messenger ent on:" I can give you what you want; I have in my gifts the ability to see into hat your scientists would call parallel worlds. I am willing to send you to several of them, in hopes of finding a new life for you."**

" **And what ould I have to do in return? I mean, " he stammered, not anting to offend whatever it as he was talking to, " in most myths, there's always a catch. A way for a god to renege , unless there was a big sacrifice to be made."**

**The Messenger spoke more slowly than before, a hint of warning as well as respect for the question in its voice: " Wise you are to ask. I will send you to up to seven different Earths. On each, there is a man who looks almost like you. Your mind will enter their body. You will be able to know what they know, but, be warned. The transfer can only happen at a moment of decision for the others. Your payment is to make the best decision for them, regardless if that is the reality you wish to stay in . The wrong choice could be merely laughable, or it could be fatal. Ideally, you would help them in your quest to find your better life. You would stay three days in each life before you made your choice. Is that acceptable?"**

**Cody Jackson thought about it for ten long minutes. He weighed his options. The images of being nearly raped flashed through his head. Images of his mom before and after his father's tragic death. Images of Mel. In his mind, he saw the different choices he could have made. That he would make."**

" **I want to try it. Hat do I have to do?"**

" **Merely take a deep breath. Be warned, for the first few moments, the . Body will still be responding to whatever the mind within was doing before you can become dominant. And when or if you leave for another reality, they will remember the actions you took as if it were their own. Are you ready, Cody Jackson."**

**He took a nervous, deep breath. " Let's do it" He braced for something, he didn't know what.**

**And the next second, he was in someone else's body. The good news was, this counterpart seemed to be the about the same age, size and build as him.**

**The bad news was, at that exact moment, another teen around his own size was pressed up extremely close to him. In fact, his black pubic hair was in Jackson's borrowed body's eyes. Two strong hands were forcing his open mouth up and down on a reasonably large penis that at this moment as filling his mouth full of semen.**

" **Damn, I hope Carmen Lopez can suck dick as well as you can Noah, " Zack Powers grunted as he shot his load into Noah Carmichaels mouth, not knowing that Noah wasn't there now. Cody Jackson was.**

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**Next: Chapter 2, What George and Zack Don't Noah**

**Hope this has been fun so far. Jackson is going to be in some very familiar places for Pacar fans.**

**Expect to see:**

**Nathan Atherton, CSI Miami**

**Damon Young, Make It or Break It**

**And a very familiar actor/singer.**

**Sam from Purgatory house and several more places. IMDB has all the clues you'll need .**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

What George and Zack Don't Noah

Jackson turned his head and spat the vile mess into the floor as Zack stepped back. Pulling his boxer and jeans up. He looked at Jackson, slightly puzzled by the tension on the other boy's face. " What's the matter with you, you usually swallow," he said with a grin on his expressive face as he buckled his pants and zipped them. " Don't tell me you've lost the **taste**, " he leeringly emphasized the word, "for me already." He leaned back against the door facing as Jackson got to his feet, wiping at the corner of his mouth.

He looked at the familiar weight on his left arm. A wristband identical to the one he usually wore was on an arm that seemed as long as his own, as fit and tanned as his own. He walked over to where a huge oak dresser with a large mirror was and looked at his counterpart. He had to fight for control as he looked at the reflection.

It wasn't the differences, like the decidedly preppier clothes or the shorter hair that bothered him, it was the overwhelming similarities. As Tagaloa-savali had promised, he could feel Noah Carmichael's memories like they were his own. They seemed to be slightly fainter than his own memories, but they were still just as strong. He was in a body that had to have been within a year of his on age and could have passed for an identical twin. He felt a wave of familiarity hit him again as he saw the leather chain with the familiar cross around the neck of the body. He bought a few more seconds by pulling a comb out of the cargo pants pockets and making minute adjustments to his hair as other sensations sank in, one in particular as he glanced at Zack, quietly watching him.

The strongest wave of pure lust he'd ever felt tingled in his brain and groin as he looked at the attractive, panther like boy. Jackson was bisexual himself, but it was pretty obvious that Noah was not. He seemed to be completely gay. Even the thought of Mel that had kept him awake night after night didn't arouse the body at all. And Noah was in love, or at least lust, with the other young man. He skimmed the memories of Noah , trying to figure out what was going on, because, Noah's memories aside, this was all very, very familiar to him.

He blurted it aloud as he finally realized the answer was in his own memories, not Noah's.

" The George Lopez show! This has to be some kind of dream!" he mumbled in stunned surmise. Unfortunately, Zack heard him.

He crossed over, spinning Jackson around by the shoulders. " What about Carmen's dad?! What's up?" he was plainly agitated by the mere mention of the name. Jackson's mind raced to understand the events.

On his earth, George Lopez was a very successful comedian and actor. His show had recently gone off the air and was being reran to death on Nick at Night. He had seen this episode several times, although in his memories, the actor that had played Noah had looked very little like Jackson himself. And this was certainly not a sitcom. It was as real as anything he had ever known. He could feel the breath of the other teen on his face, see the flush on his skin, smell his aftershave even. He looked into Noah's memories and got the information he needed form it at the speed of thought.

Noah had had a crush on Zack Powers since they were in the fifth grade together. He was a pretty athletic guy himself, but sports came effortlessly to Zack. And he had a eye catching fluid grace, a almost feline air to him. And, when he hit puberty like a rocket, he'd become on of the most promiscuous teens in all of Los Angeles. He actually got migraines if he didn't have sex. And he wasn't getting it as easily for the last few months , not since he'd gotten a junior pregnant . His parents had all but chained him to the king size bed in his apartment sized bedroom. And then, Noah had become his tutor at around the same time Zack had become infatuated with Carmen Lopez. He realized swiftly how infatuated Noah was with him and he'd made a bargain with him, trading the one thing he truly excelled at to gain Noah's help. Sex.

It didn't seem to matter to Noah that he was being used. In fact, considering some of the things Zack liked to do, Jackson was suddenly grateful that he'd arrived with the dick in his mouth and not where Zack usually put it. He liked to be rough too, as the deep scratches Jackson suddenly became aware of on Noah's butt and back could attest to.

_I remember this , or at least, how it played out on my Earth. This little bottom feeder here gets Noah to act like Carmen's boyfriend. He wound up getting outed by George and what her name, Benny. And Carmen wound up running away. That must be why I'm here, to help this version of Noah help Carmen. _He repressed Noah's memories as visions of some of Zack's other escapades, like beating up Noah's boyfriend Lucas outside of the theater the week before, to ensure that he stayed alone and desperate enough to help Zack do anything. Even passively help him con Carmen into considering surrendering her virginity to the male whore.

His chain of thought was broken as Powers shook him hard.

" Don't fucking stand there , talk to me! Are you gonna fucking punk out on having dinner at the Lopez's tonight or something? Answer me!" he demanded, stale alcohol on his breath as he put his face up to Noah's face.

Jackson answered swiftly, " No, I'll do what I said I would. I'd hate to never get my hands on this again, " and he reached down to caress Zack's bulge as he spoke, fighting the urge to hit the obnoxious youth. " That wetback's to damn dumb to outsmart my man." he said, stroking the disturbed teens massive ego.

Zack shamelessly ground his pelvis on Jackson's hand, relief plain on his face. " You'll have to share me with Carmen, but don't worry. It's be fun seeing if I can get her to have a threesome with us."

Jackson acted as Noah would have, making a gagging noise, " I only eat fish from sea food places ."

"Stupid fag, " Zack said, but he was still grinning, " You might like it if you try it. That's what you told me when you came out of my bathroom wearing nothing but a smile the first time we got it on." Fortunately , he didn't notice Jackson's wince at _that _bit of information_. _" Take your own advice genius." He looked down at his watch. " Damn, its time for you to go. Give my love to Georgie boy." He sniffed in derision.

Moments later, Jackson was in Noah's brand new cherry red Mustang, headed to the Lopez house for supper. He took his time, willing to be a little late as a plan slowly formed in his mind.

_Hmm, Zack 's willing to have sex with Noah to get into Carmen's pants. Let's see if we can flip this equation around with some help from George Lopez himself, _he thought with an uncharacteristically broad and toothy smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Now George Noahs Ex-Zackly What They Need To Do

Later that night, Jackson made his luck happen for him. He managed to "accidentally" spill his drink on Carmen just as he felt his cell phone vibrate.

_Thank God I remembered not to leave it out where Benny and George could see it, or it would have been just like on the show. They'd have assumed I was ditching Carmen for another girl, followed me, and found me and Lucas kissing in the theater. Now, I have a chance to talk to George, if I hurry._

" Say, can I talk to you outside for a minute Mister Lopez ?" he asked, looking over at the rather large headed Latino man, who was putting his plate in the sink, grumbling a his eleven year old son Max all the while.

" Sure kid, if the walking stomach here will get out Of My Way!" he said, emphasizing the last three words as max darted around them, his fourth or fifth cup of chocolate ice cream cupped in his hands as he dashed to the nearby stairwell. The somewhat heavyset man waved at the patio, shooting a look of disgust at his mother Benita, who was waddling her stubby five foot frame that way, a cigarette clenched in her teeth, her purse clutched tightly in her hands. " Just follow my garden gnome outside."

Once they were outside, Jackson simply let it all out in a rush, hoping he could get it out before either A. George lost his temper and decked him or B. Carmen reappeared.

" Zack Powers is still sneaking around, trying to get Carmen to have sex with him. He's been bribing me to pretend to be her boyfriend. I think he's going to try to get her to run away with him, probably to San Francisco." He took a breath while George and Benny stared at him in shock. Which didn't last long.

" I'm gonna kill that little punk! And Mel powers too. Damn it, Mel promised to keep him away, George seethed.

" Hell George, Mel has a Mexican mistress, his kid just wants to be like his daddy." Benny said acidly, but there was a glimmer of concern in her gimlet eyes as she said it.

" I'm gonna ground Carmen, put a chastity belt on her and build a moat so my mom can swim in it and scare all the other boys away!" he looked up at the second storey windows and started to call out for his daughter but Jackson managed to stop him in time."

" Wait Mister Lopez!" he said, holding his hands up to divert his attention from Carmen. " I may be able to give you something on Zack that'll keep him away and give you a way to make sure his dad keeps him away for a long time. You've gotta trust me," he said earnestly.

Benny sashayed up to him and rapped him in the chest with her purse smartly. " And why should we trust you Princess?"

George growled at him as well, anger plainly on his face, " Yeah. Mom's right . You're up to your ass in this too."

Despite himself, Jackson laughed. Then laughed again at the look they gave him for laughing. Sobering, he said, " Because I am a Princess, sort of and I'm literally up to my ass in it."

He explained to them just how well he really knew Zack Powers.

George looked sick, " Man, that kid wants honey and jam too. Orale!"

" The Powers kid is light in the loafers?!" Benny doubled up in hilarity.

Jackson had a rueful grin as he watched them. _Man, they're one wild bunch, especially Benny. But at least I think I may be able to save Carmen from Zack. Judging from Noah's memories, he's tired of being in the closet anyhow. Maybe outing him like this, taking don a manipulative ass like Zack, culd be described as A Good Deed._

They were lucky that just as Carmen came downstairs, Max ran into her with yet another cup of ice cream. After slapping him , she ran upstairs to change yet again, buying them another ten minutes that were put to good use,

The next night, Jackson was back a the Lopez house. He was moving somewhat slowly. He'd gotten Zack to come over for a late night's surprise. He felt distinctly guilty, like he'd been unfaithful to Mel. He quashed the guilt down. _You and Mel aren't a couple, despite having feelings for one another. Besides, she wouldn't approve of what I did with Zack last night , but she'd damn sure be delighted at hat's about to happen to the little date rape specialist!_

He parked beside a huge H2 with the tag MYPOWER in the drive. He smiled as he recognized Mel Powers SUV. He went into the house. Benny was waiting for him in the kitchen as he handed a disk he'd burned a half hour ago. She looked at it and gave him a look that made him uneasy.

" Are you featured in this too princess?" she rasped in her froglike croak.

" Uh, some, but I angled the camera so it would mainly show Zack." he answered nervously.

" Damn, he's got a flat butt just like Mel. You have a lot better tush." She turned and went into the living room.

_I think I just threw up in my mouth a little, _Jackson thought as he went to watch the fireworks.

In the living room were George, Angie, Carmen and Benny Lopez. On the other, a visibly confused Mel Powers sat with a sullen Zack, who looked at Jackson suspiciously as he walked in and sat in a chair George pointed at. George began without a preamble.

" I asked you and Zack here to tell you one last time to stay the hell away from my daughter. She's fifteen. That's way too young for her to ruin her life b getting pregnant by that idiot sitting on my coach!"

" Which one?, " Benny muttered in a loud aside to Angie, ho shushed her heatedly.

"Now hold on a minute George!" Mel bellowed, rising to his feet in anger, " My son has been in his room or at his tutor there's house every evening for nearly a month now! You don't know what you're talking about!"

" Bull!" Lopez snarled back challengingly, " Noah here admitted to me he's been being bribed by Zack to let him go and do whatever he wants."

Mel waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. " Baloney! I cut him off from all sources of money! I keep my credit and bank cards at a friends house so he can't get them either."

George held up the disk Benny had handed him as he replied. " I never said he bribed Noah with cash. Noah is gay. Guess how Zack bribed a gay teenager with no money of his own?" He walked over and put the DVD in. It only took twenty seconds to make it plain just how Noah had been bribed.

Mel looked sick. Zack looked ready to implode.

" Got anything else to say Mel? No. Well I do. Zack will be eighteen in just a month and a half. Noah is only sixteen. That's statutory rape if the right DA sees this DVD. And if he comes near Carmen again, I'll hand deliver it to the DA's office. Noah is tired of being used and abused by your son and I don't want you confused kid anywhere near my daughter again."

Five minutes later, the SUV was gone from the driveway. George had thanked Jackson and all seemed to be going right.

Until Jackson came across Zack all alone the next day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Seeing Ya

Jackson was in the parking lot of Powers Brothers Aviation, about to pick up Noah's uncle from work. He had the top don on the Mustang and his back turned when Zack popped up out of nowhere. He had a pistol in his hand. He aimed it at Jackson's face.

" I was hoping to catch you after I got rid of George, but that's ok. You fucked my life up with your stunt, " he spat, reeking of alcohol, " you took Carmen away and any hope of ever getting my inheritance from my old man. It's just evening things out if I take something from you."

Cody Jackson had time for one last thought: _No! I don't want to be here anymore! _as Zack shot Noah Carmichaels right in the head.

All Jackson felt was a sudden impact.

But oddly, it wasn't on his face, or rather, his entire face. It was on his nose. And it wasn't a bullet, it was a fist. And it had just broken his nose.

Star spangled in his eyes as he fell flat on his ass on the beach. He looked up to see a familiar face looking down at him in concern just as an unfamiliar voice roared.

"CUT!"

Corbin Bleu Looked down at him in consternation as Jeremy Kissner walked over and offered him a hand up. " Dude, your nose is bleeding. And , uh, it's _bent."_ And the skinny man actually snickered. " Way to go Corby!"

It was fortunate that the spirit that was sending him from one Earth. Tagaloa-savali had told him he would be able to access the memories of the counterpart he'd be inside of. A quick rummaging in this body's mind nearly overwhelmed him though. Noah's body had been almost identical to his. This one , aside from feeling slightly larger, felt even more like home. Especially considering he was wearing some of the same clothes as he'd carried on the trip to Palau on his Earth.

Apparently, this body belonged to a young man named Johnny Pacar, or Pacuraru. He'd changed it when he began acting because one of his pet peeves was when people mangled his unusual last name. He was currently on Hawaii filming the last regular episode of a kid show for Discovery Kids.

The name of the show as Flight 29 Down.

_I can't believe this is happening. And this place, even though it's on Hawaii, it looks just like _our_ beach! And these guys look like Nathan and Eric, although, they're a little older, especially Eric, er, Jeremy. Man, I'll have to watch that! I can see in Johnny's mind that they both Hate being called by their characters names._

" Are you all right? Asked a tall white haired man Johnny's memories told Jackson was DJ McHale, the writer/director/producer of the show. He motioned for the many film crew members to move off. They did, taking the cameras, mike and other sundry involved in filming along with them

Jackson felt like his nose was about to fall off. He also felt slightly like a clown under the makeup he suddenly became aware of.

" Ha! Maybe you'll get a nose job outta this Pacar. It'll be the last thing NBC pays for." Jeremy squawked, still laughing at the discomfited Corbin.

" Man, I'm sorry about that Johnny. Punch laughing boy here if it'll make you feel better, " Bleu suggested, kicking sand at Jeremy. " It would make me feel better, anyway.

The set nurse came running up the path as they walked up in the direction of the many tents and trailer littering the nearby area. It took her all of five seconds of painfully poking at his nose to confirm it was broken.

McHale was mumbling to himself, " Darn. I'll have to reshoot. Hmm, I think one of our lighting guys is around your size… Oh well. We better get you to the hospital to get you checked out. Thank God that was your last scene. At least unless we get funding to do the movie finale."

At that moment, two more people walked up. One was a dead ringer for Lex. He even had the same shirt on that Lex had before all hell had broken loose at the boy's trial . The other one may have looked like Melissa u, but the body language was completely different as the clothes, well.

_I might have had a wet dream, or three about Mel dressing up , but … Dayum!_

Mel's twin had on a black leather miniskirt that clung to her well rounded hips. A tight black shirt with no sleeves had a tiny black leather jacket covering it, barely. She had designer sunglasses on that probably cost a couple of hundred dollars as her boots were black monstrosities that came almost up to her mid calves. She looked like a cross between an Oriental goddess and a dominatrix, to be honest.

" Corby didn't kill you? I just can't get a break." was her less than comforting comment. She tossed her luxuriant black hair in a dramatic fashion before grudgingly adding, " I told DJ that Allen and I would drive you to town since we're out of work now. Thanks to those assholes at NBC, that traitor Corbin " High School Musical" Bleu and you. Be at my car in three minutes." she ordered, whirling about and stalking off like a offender panther.

"Well, she's handling you calling the engagement off better than you said she was, " Kissner drawled, " she didn't even threaten to castrate you again."

Allen Alvaredo looked up at Jackson. " You need to take up some safer hobbies than dating your costars. Like juggling nitro or skydiving without a parachute."

" Man, now I really feel guilty, ' Corbin added, " I broke your nose and sent you to the e.r. And now you have to ride to the hospital with someone who'd rather be taking you to the graveyard."

_Maybe I should have let Zack kill me after all, _was Jackson's ironic thought.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

A Living Purgatory

Kristy seemed to be doing her absolute best to make Jackson/Johnny screamed. That was the only reason he could think for her to be doing eighty five miles an hour on the small two lane highway, here near the North Shore of Hawaii. Allen had let out a obscenity of two of his own as the stone faced woman took several turns with the heels of the bright blue Celica seeming to be about to lose their tenuous contact with the ancient asphalt. He had came close to letting out a few choice words of his own, but it was more at the memories in Pacar's mind than the driving. Hell. He liked driving fast himself.

_I may have dodged getting shot by Zack Powers, but Kristy isn't a lot more stable. Man, she may look like Mel, but she has the temper of a rabid wolverine! And she and all the rest blames Johnny for the show ending because of an interview he did just after the second season started. And she's been pissed at him for a comment he made in the same interview. Especially since they had a smoking hot relationship at the time._

Apparently, Johnny had made a comment in an interview about how long he thought the show would last; it had tremendous ratings for a Saturday morning "tween" show. Pacar had replied honestly. " I can't see myself here in four or five years regardless of the ratings. There's just so much I can do as Jackson, plus, I'd be almost 30 by the time they sent them home. And, I always planned on going into music one day."

That was bad enough in his costars eyes. They were all older than their parts as well and Kristy and Jeremy, the two next oldest had a good bit of sympathy for that much. But D.J. had hurriedly rewritten the last few episodes, severely downsizing Jackson's part and that had effected Kristy's on screen time as well. She hated it. And he'd also encouraged Corbin to pursue his own musical desires and had been happy Corby has done so well in the High School Musical movies, the last of which was to be on the big screen. A furious Kristy had asked them, both former stars of made for tv movies for Disney, " When are you to going to get a bellyful of Mickey Mouse's joy juice!" And then, there was the tombstone on their relationship. Johnny had made a comment that he would have loved to have been in a movie like Brokeback Mountain, which was an instant classic.

" You fucking bastard!" she unloaded on him in rehersal the next week like the wrath of God, " You had to pick that piece of fairy fluff to comment on?! Now half of Hollywood'll think you're either in the closet or I've been covering for you. You idiot, if my career nosedives because of you, I'll strangle you." She hadn't spoken a civil word to him in three weeks.

Maybe if he had been paying attention, he would have seen the other car coming. Kristy was fiddling with the cd player; her Wu Tang Clan CD was skipping. She ripped it out and threw it in the back seat, hitting Allen in the head. Allen's roar of protest made her turn her head as well.

" Quit whining you little punk, " she snarled just as horrendous impact sent the car into the air.

_Tagoloa-savali, get me outta here! _he though frantically as he felt his ribs being crushed…

He felt the now familiar sensation of being jumped from one reality to the other. Everything shifted. And there he was. Moved again.

And he nearly called out again as he suddenly felt the rush of something he'd tried only once in his life filling his veins. Ecstasy . And the slightly more familiar sensation of alcohol. And God alone knew what else. The body he'd just went into was that of a drug addicted, borderline suicidal fifteen year old named Sam. He was seriously considering killing himself over his part in the death of his girlfriend, another teenager he'd introduced to drugs. Her name was Silver Strand.

***************************************************************

Author's Note: This chapter is short because I want to get the next one right. The next one is really important to me. My best friend is a recovering addict as is his girlfriend. Their real life story is eerily like the one in the movie Purgatory House. This movie is very well loved by both of them and myself and I ant to do it justice.


	6. Chapter 6

Dedicated to Kevan, my best friend, my brother in all but blood and the father of my goddaughter. And also to the incredible people who brought Purgatory House to life. It is the best movie about teen addiction and suicide ever made.

Note: All parts of Kevan's story are absolutely true. And yes, I am Matt. That's my real name.

Chapter 6

The Purgatory of A Survivor

The rush of the drugs and alcohol in the body Cody Jackson was currently residing in was threatening to overpower him. The incredibly severe depression that Sam was feeling was even worse; Jackson knew about depression, he suffered considerably from it himself, but this was beyond anything he had ever felt. Sam's story played out for Jackson like a movie at the speed of thought.

Sam's parents were nice, normal people. They both worked hard to keep a roof over their heads and that of their fifteen year old son. And there was the problem in itself. In the worsening economy, they had to work longer and harder to make ends meet. Something had to give and that something had proven to be time. They just did not have the time for one another they used to have. And especially, they didn't have the time to spend with Sam. If they had, they might have noticed when he started having problems .Starting with depression, but most certainly not ending there.

A huge part of he problem lay in school. Oh, Sam was an average student, at least. He did reasonably well in all his classes. It was the atmosphere at the school that fed the depression. All of the cliques and factions and gangs were just the tip of the ice. At any hour of any day you could go into a class room and see smiling people who lived lives of desperate loneliness behind those vacant grins. You could see nice, quiet students who never caused a moments troubles who secretly carried weapons at all times. And see the living embodiment of the All American high school star student, who would be laughing over his latest date rape in the cafeteria with his friends over French fries. And the teachers ranged from naïve and innocent to hardened people who wouldn't have batted an eye at a stabbing two feet away.

The result of the 21st century high school atmosphere had been enough to make Sam decide to try something to make himself as numb to it all as he could. He turned to drugs. At first, it was relatively mild, marijuana. And the occasional beer stolen from the fridge in the garage at home when both his parents were working late. Then, it became harder and harder to get the needed buzz. The situation at school began to worsen as the quest for stronger drugs began to escalate, so slowly that even Sam didn't realize how much it had come to dominate his time. And then he'd started talking to a girl with the unusual name of Silver Strand.

At first, the budding friendship had actually slowed his drug use, He had tried to play it off as an occasional thing. But then, Silver's own life had began to mirror Sam's. Her mother was now gone and her father loved her, but seemed completely unable to see that she was growing up. He still saw his little girl and did not see that she was growing into a depressed young woman.

Jackson felt the emotions Sam had felt when he had made his tragic mistake with Silver. He had, in his own confused way, been trying to help. He knew the drugs helped him and he wanted Silver to be able to endure like he did. And he was using her for sex, as well. Out of a need for intimacy as well as for genuine love for her, perhaps, but it as still the fee he invariable charged for hooking her up. And then, inevitably, disaster had struck.

Sam had taken her to a less than reliable connections house for some ecstasy for her and other drugs form himself. He had thought she looked high already when he had met with her at her house. About her depression worsening, he had been far to numb to realize. He had no idea that she had already taken enough downers that she was already well on her way to overdosing. The combination of drugs had killed her. She had died right in front of his eyes. And he had never forgiven himself.

Two months later, her father had invited Sam and his parent to his house for a talk. He had found a note Silver had left. It gave all the details of her decision to die. And it had told of Sam's role in her addiction. She had accused him of loving her but using her as much as she had him. And it had been the absolute truth. Mr. Strand had begged Sam to get help, saying he didn't want him to die as his daughter had, but Sam had refused to accept help from a man he felt as just as culpable in Silver Strand's death as he had been.

Then, there had been a shooting at school later that week. A lone gunman, one of those quiet students who seem to just simply exist, had pulled a pistol from his locker and slain three classmates and wounded several others. Sam had missed being hit by a fraction of an inch. And for the next two days, Sam's parents had smothered him with love, not realizing that instead of being scared to death, he was rapidly becoming obsessed with it. With the desperate desire for his own pain and guilt to end.

They had finally simply had to go back to work. There had been no alternative. And as soon as they were gone, he had broken into where the emergency money was hidden. In two hours, he was ensconced in his room and was as high as he'd ever been in his life. And adamantly determined to die by overdose, just as Silver had.

Jackson finally realized, now that he was experiencing it firsthand, the living hell of addiction that his mother lived with every day of her life and he felt ashamed. _No idea. I had no idea. I thought I did after I tried it, but I was completely clueless. Getting high isn't the same thing as being an addict. My God, I misjudged Mom so badly…_

And then , with a start, he realized that something was different this time. He was aware of all of Sam's thoughts, emotions and memories, as he had been in Noah's and Johnny's bodies. But now, he somehow knew that **Sam **was equally aware of his.

Somewhat to his amusement, Jackson realized that Sam thought he was hallucinating having someone else inside of his head. _Man, I wish we were both hallucinations right now. God, all I want to do is curl up and die! It's coming from him, but it's pulling me under like a riptide. _

While Sam's mind nattered on in the background, Cody Jackson asserted a tremendous amount of willpower simply to rise up off of the futon Sam had been laying on And staggered around the room, looking at the many posters and stolen street signs that liberally covered the walls. The room _stank_. It smelled like a particularly loud mix of cigarette smoke, dirty clothes and , well, the sharp, pungent aroma of a teenager with somewhat questionable hygiene. It was so littered, Jackson had to right himself twice as he walked, stumbled, rather , to the battered dresser and it wasn't due to the drugs and booze in his veins either, it was the clutter. He caught the dresser with both hands and turned Sam's bloodshot eyes upon the reflection in the mirror.

_He looks __**exactly **__like I did barely a year ago, _was Cody's first reaction. _I thought Noah and I were nearly identical and Johnny looked like an older version of either of us, but this guy IS me, except for what's lurking in his head. _The thoughts were racing almost as fast as his drug effected pulse. His chest was actually hurting from the racing heartbeat. He was beginning to feel light headed as well. For a second, he thought that was why what happened next took place. Without his willing it, as he looked into the mirror and a voice so very, very much like his own spoke.

" I've finally lost it. Now I'm hearing voices, " Sam complained bitterly, " Fuckin' perfect, right?" he asked the room around him, " And they'll wonder why I did this? Idiots."

_It's got to be the drugs, somehow they're messing the connection Tagaloa-savali has been making for me whenever I go into other bodies, _Jackson thought, only, to his immense shock, to be stopped in midthought by Sam's cry of shock.

" What the fuck is going on?!" He actually spun around as if he truly believed someone was in the room with him. But there was no one there. His eyes squinted as he spoke to himself, " Man, I don't know what the fuck they put in that E, but damn, " he broke off as Jackson fought with all his might to force him to walk back to the mirror. Sam turned about like a puppet being moved by overly tight strings. His terror swept over Jackson like acid.

He managed to take control over the mouth as he looked into the mirror.

" I am not a hallucination Sam. I'm as real as you are." he managed to get out before control as wrested again, Sam's pure panic giving him focus that briefly broke past the drugs in his system.

" No! I wanted to go sane, not crazy! " He staggered back over to the bed, this time reaching for a bottle Jackson recognized in an instant. It was Ambien. And from what he could see in Sam's mind, he planned on downing it all.

_I can't let him do this!_ He thought as he tried to take the body back, but Sam's resistance seemed to grow by the second. _I wouldn't do this and all he is another version of me ! I won't just let him kill himself._

And then yet another voice rang in the far too crowded head of Sam. Heard only by Jackson.

_**Boy, you have to think before you act, **_the Messenger, Tagaloa-savali, _**show him yourself. All of you, it is the only way you two can co-exist. His mind is damaged, that's why the fusion splintered. It's the only way he will believe you. **_And then he was gone.

Cody did the one thing he could do, the hardest thing he had yet done in his life. With a silent prayer, he opened his mind and soul to the desperate young man in whose body he resided. Everything that was Cody John Jackson went forth into Sam's mind. And as the Messenger had said, belief blossomed within him.

" Then you're really in my head? It's not the drugs?" Sam asked , incredulous.

" Afraid not.' Jackson replied from the same mouth.

" And everything I just felt and saw, about your dad dying in front of you, your mom being a druggie, you being wanted by the cop and stuck on an island, it's all true, isn't it?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Jackson replied simply, " Yes. And I know all about you. And Silver Strand and why you hate yourself so much."

" Wouldn't you?" Sam said accusingly, " If you can really fell what I feel, then wouldn't you want to do this too?! I can't go on like this. I just can't. I don't remember what being happy was like anymore. And nothing feels real, not even when I leave the shit alone . Then it's even worse."

Jackson thought for a moment before replying. " I may have done a little experimenting it drugs, but I'm the child of an addict, not an addict. I may get depressed worrying about my mom and thinking about how Dad was cut down in front of me and how Big J nearly died protecting me, but, I'm not an addict. I may have thought about suicide a couple of times," it causes Cody almost physical pain to say that to a living soul, " but I never tried it. I can't explain anything to you, give you a magic cure because our lives are too different Sam."

" Great, I get a damn guardian angel that's fuckin' clueless." the boy complained, shaking his head.

" I'm not a guardian angel. I'm from another Earth," he reminded him.

" Yeah, I know, " Sam grated sarcastically, " you wanted a better life. Well guess what? I'd take yours in a heartbeat."

Jackson thought about the problem for a few minutes while Sam leaned back on the futon . Finally, an idea came to him.

" You have a computer, let's get on it for a minute. We're going to take a trip, if I can find a meeting close by."

An hour later, after finding the address Jackson was looking for, they left the house and were en route to a teen N.A. meeting .

It hadn't been easy for several reasons. Sam's adamant refusal to go to one close by for starters. He'd insisted on finding one clear across town. Jackson actually could sympathize with that. But the main problem had been simply sobering Sam up enough to risk getting him out in the first place. A shower had helped, as had a change of clothes and a modicum of simple black coffee. And Sam's changing his mind every few minutes didn't help either, but he had finally agreed to at least go and listen.

The meeting spot was in a run down, crumbling old two storey building across from a tiny, dilapidated park. There were a half dozen cars parked in the lot and they saw ten or so people, most of them teenager, loitering around outside. Most of them seemed in decent condition but one or to could probably have given Sam a run for his money before Cod had forced him to clean up.

" Damn, we junkies aren't exactly 90210 material are we, " he'd offered as a lame joke at the sight of a couple of the less well dressed ones walked by.

_Just go in the damned building Sam. You said you'd try._

At Jackson's suggestion, they were trying to keep the comments mental. On the bus ride over, the conversation they had been having had gotten rather, verbal, and both teens ere convinced the bus driver had seriously contemplated ordering them off the bus as obviously unbalanced. Especially since there was only one person there and to people talking!

" Bet he was glad to see me get off the bus." Sam whispered as he walked in.

_Dude, keep it quiet. The people here will __**definitely **__know something other than addictions wrong with you if you keep up a conversation with me. I bet money there's at least one person here with connections with social services and THAT I have plenty of experience with. You don't want to get hauled off to the psych ward._

It's hard to snort in an ironic fashion, but Sam managed it as he got a seat as the meeting was called to order.

There was a young blonde woman chairing the meeting, which was mainly for under age 21 addicts. They led off with the traditional prayer, the twelve steps and the twelve traditions of NA. After that, the woman, identified as Celeste D. introduced the guest speaker, Kevan F.

The young man in question walked slowly up to the podium. He had slightly wavy jet black hair and looked vaguely Polynesian, although all of his ancestors were Irish, as he'd proudly tell you. He was around six feet tall and had a compact build, more like a gymnast than any thing else, although he went around one hundred and ninety pounds. He wore a almost skin tight Avenged Sevenfold t shirt which emphasized his muscles and he nervously twisted a plain metal band on his hand as he weaved through the crowd with a surprisingly fluid grace for someone of his relative size. He clasped his hand on either side on the podium and gave a arm smile to the group at large before he began to speak, his North Mississippi accent and baritone voice making an odd contrast to his appearance.

" Hi everyone. For the ones who don't know me, I'm Kevan, and that's Ke-van, like Evan, not Kevin." There were slight titter from a few in the crowd who obviously knew of his apparent obsession with the proper pronunciation of his name. I'm a recovering addict and alcoholic. Obviously, I don't believe in screwing my life up halfway." And with that , he gave a quick back ground on himself.

Of how he was actually born in California to a military family. Of how they had moved to rural Mississippi after his father had been discharged from the military for stealing . Of how even as a child, he'd suffered from depression. Of how his parents, desperate for any source of income had tried to have him declared retarded, to get a SSI check on him. And how that had directly led to his drug and alcohol abuse.

" I'll never forget the way the judge talked to my folks at the hearing, " he had said, a grin of pure mischief on his irregularly handsome face, " he told them that according to the tests and from how I had talked to him in chambers, the wrong ones had claimed mental retardation in my case. " And then the grin had faded as he told of the next few years.

After their public humiliation, he'd been emotionally abandoned by his parents. They had begun showing a blatant favoritism towards his older brother. They even seemed to prefer his cousins to him. All that had kept it controllable for a while was the fact that his brother took great umbrage at the way his parents were acting. But eventually, even he stopped protecting him as Kevan began lashing out. And he'd met a boy, Jon, who introduced him to weed at the age of eleven years old.

It had been all too easy to keep the initial drug use hid. It made him secretive and his parents were delighted that their ADS diagnosed child as finally seeming to calm down. Then, Jon had moved and with him gone, Kevan had no source of drugs. It was at that time that his brother had begun stealing beer from any and everyone he could get it from.

For the nest two and a half years, only the beers and the odd stolen bottle of whiskey had gotten his through. Then , he had met Matt, the boyfriend, of his father's youngest sister. He was several years younger than Kevan's aunt , in fact, he was all of twenty years old, to the horror of the family and he freely admitted to the world he'd tried to commit suicide before and seemed addicted to making the worst possible puns and jokes he could think of. He also loved children with the passion of a person who'd been told at thirteen that he would never father any after being effected with a medical condition that had left him sterile. They had become nearly inseperable , even after Matt and his aunt had broken up. As Matt worked for the local mental health agency, Kevan saw him often. And as he turned fifteen, that as far more often that before. Almost as if a warped birthday present, his on mother's sister had accused him of molesting her two children. Both boys.

It had raged on in court for two years. Halfway through, Jon had moved back to town. He had immediately sought his old friend out and the drugs had resumed. To his shame, he freely manipulated Matt and his aunt, living together at the time, into letting him stay at least three days a week. They were so afraid of turning him down, they had provided him with all the cash needed. The drug usage finally got to the point where Matt had spoken to Kevan's father about he and Jon. It had nearly cost him Matt's friendship and almost ruined his relationship with his aunt. To make it worse, they had been the ones doing the most to assist with his court case's cost. They had gotten over it, but now, he had to find a new means of money for the drugs.

He and Jon had become two of the biggest thieves in the tricounty area. Jon had even broken into Matt's house. And Matt confronted them .

He hadn't called the police or anything like that. Instead, he'd done something worse. He told Kevan and Jon how disappointed he was with them both. He'd pointed out all of the movies, trips, the many, many times he' d gone out of his way because he believed in Kevan's potential, how even his aunt had told Matt he was trying to hard to help. And it had hurt, but it had made them give up the drugs. For a while.

Then, a miracle happened. But it as a bitter one. The two children had confessed that it wasn't Kevan who had molested them. It had been two other people. Their father, who everyone had always believed to be the culprit.

The other was his own brother, who both boys said had told them to blame it on him.

He was declared innocent. His brother and his one time uncle both got thirty years. And the night after his brother confessed , he got higher than he'd ever been as he'd done heroin for the first time. It was love at first sight.

For the next six months everything had managed to go reasonable smoothly. In fact, he'd fallen in love with Jon's sister, Shay. He fact that he was nearly eighteen and she was fourteen didn't slow them don. The added fact that she drank as hard as he or Jon and loved weed was an added bonus. His parent gave him enormous freedom. Matt would always be willing to drive the sixty mile drive to get him to Jon and Shay's. Once there, they had freedom because Jon and Shay's mom was as big an addict as any of them.

And then , the worst day of his life happened. It made his brother's betrayal seem like nothing. He and Jon were getting ready to go to work. Matt had taken a traveling merchandising job and had gotten Kevan and Jon hired on as well. They had walked from Jon's mother's house to Jon's grandad's house to do their laundry. Jon's brother had been out back , shooting at birds. When they went to check on the clothes, the old shotgun had been carelessly left on the table. It was still cocked and the safety hadn't worked in years. Kevan had gone to put it on the gun rack when he tripped , bumping his arm. The shotgun had roared.

The blast had torn a hole the size of a bowling ball in Jon's chest. He'd bled to death in his mother and sister's arms while screaming "Why?' at Kevan the whole time.

For the next month, at any hint of stress, Kevan would pass out. He'd done it twice at the funeral home. The week after the accident, a horrified Matt had to cradle the screaming teenager like a baby as he'd woke up reliving the accident. And it happened a dozen more time in the next few months.

Matt had stopped him from committing suicide by pointing out that if he tried and failed, he'd just be showing the whole world that he couldn't accomplish anything.

He had worked hard and he used every type of drug he'd swore he'd never try. Ice, cocaine, crystal meth. When he finally admitted to a furious matt that he'd had drugs in the car a dozen different times, Matt had been so furious, he'd had a panic attack. He had blacked out. And after he came too, the first thing he did when he got to his feet was hit Kevan as hard as he could .

He had finally left the job. Matt and he spoke, but now, he'd decided to distance himself from his best friend and his aunt. It had been hard . Then, he had come within a heartbeat of being accused of statutory rape. He'd gotten Shay pregnant. Her mother forced them apart and he'd gotten even more heavily into drugs. He'd met a biracial, bisexual teen named Slim. They had rapidly worked out a sex for drugs deal between the two of them.

They had come within a heartbeat of getting on the state's ten most wanted list. They had begun ripping off their dealers as well. And it was after nearly being shot in the head that he'd went to Matt, who now worked at the local rehab center as a resident manager. He'd confessed everything to him.

" I still remember the defeated look Matt had on his face. Especially when I told him I as even having sex with guys for drugs. And even some older women. He had always told me about my potential. He and my Aunt Gwen had always been there for me. He was one of my closest friends and he actually admired me for My self confidence. I thought he was crazy for saying that. But then he told me that I was five months away from being a dad and that as something he'd never get to be. That I owed it to my baby to try to get my life together. That I would have a chance with my child to not repeat the mistake I had made or my dad and mom had made. And it was exactly what I needed to hear. Not how much good I had in me, how I only needed a break, but how I'd never forgive myself if I didn't change for my baby. For how it would be better to not be there at all if I as going to be raising her half assed."

' I had myself checked in . Matt helped smooth some heels and we even got Shay to do outpatient therapy. It was hard. I have a stubborn streak and I hate being told what to do. But, every time I started to just walk out, I got mad. I finally realized that I wouldn't put up with anyone else being a coward, why the hell was I letting myself.

" I've been clean for almost a year now. My baby girl, Adelyn, is six months old. She has my hair and complexion, her mom's long legs and arms, Shay's taller than I am, and her uncle Jon's eyes. Every time I look at her I see our past mistake. I know that it'll be hard. I still want to drink and I still want to get high and according to Shay, I really need to consider joining the Sex Addicts group too because I seem to have some billy goat in my family tree, but no matter ho much I ant to , I won't. I'm a dad no and I'm better clean at my orst than I as at my best as an addict. I still get depressed and I still wake up screaming for Jon. But all it takes is one look into my girls's eyes to remind me that a part of him will always be here, watching me."

He left the podium to applause, tears flowing down his face.

Ten minutes of silence later, Sam spoke aloud as they to the bus stop.

" I need help. I don't want to die like this. I want to make something from the pile of shit my life has turned into. I loved Silver, but I don't want to die like she did."

Two day's later, Sam was admitted to rehab.

As the orderly led his to the reception room where he'd be searched for contraband, he silently said goodbye to Cody.

_Thanks man. I would have died without you. I hope I can, uh, hear from you again. And I hope you get home safe. I love you man._

Jackson thought back: _Take care of yourself. And I learned a lot from you too. Messenger, send me away from here._

And he moved on.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Thank you for reading this. Kevan got to see it first, to "make sure it gets told right".


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Can't Buy Me Love

Jackson was sent flying into yet another body. He became aware of his surroundings almost instantly this time. And whoever this body belonged to, it definitely wasn't a drug abuser. Or suicidal. He was still in for a very unpleasant surprise as he looked around .

It wasn't the first time he had been in jail.

At least this time though, he was on the outside of the booth. He had the phone in hand and was looking at the father of the body he was in . A freshly emancipated seventeen and a half year old name Nathan Atherton. He was visiting his father, who was in prison for murder and fraud. As was Nathan's mother.

_Man, don't any of my counterparts have anything like happy lives of their own? First Noah, then Johnny and poor Sam had the worst of them all. Now I get to be the abandoned child of two parents from hell. Who are murderers to go with everything else? Damn._

" Nathan? Hey, don't zone out on me kid. I need an answer dammit! Are you going to pay for an appeal lawyer for me or not? Don't tell me your bitch of a mother is still trying to get you to say no. "

Jackson rummaged through Nathan Atherton's recent memories. The teenager had managed, with a little friendly assist from a Miami-Dade CSI with the unlikely name of Horatio Kane, to sell his parents house and properties for enough to pay off the outstanding debts and have enough left for his emancipation hearing, a tiny one bedroom house and a new car. Fortunately, his college funds had been untouched by the IRS and the courts. He gotten a job as a courier that sufficed to keep the utilities on, food in the cabinets and gas in the car. Everything else was luxuries. And his parents had both been desperately trying to get him to mortgage what little he had in a doubtlessly futile effort to get them out.

He answered honestly: " I can't afford to do it. There's just no way, I'd be left with nothing."

His father went puce in anger, " Listen you little fuck, we did what we did in order to keep up the lifestyle we ALL were used to. I mean it, either you get me out of this or I'll find another way . And when I do, I'm taking it out of your sorry, traitorous ass!" And with that, he flung the phone down, strode over a banged on the door to be taken back to his cell.

The Nathan part of him felt like crying, cursing or both.

The Jackson part was disgusted beyond belief. _Good grief, for all me and Mom fought like cats and dogs over the drugs and alcohol, I never doubted she loved me or that I loved her, but this… I can't find a decent memory of him and his parents for at least ten years. They __**bought**__ him anything and everything he asked for. But they never did or enjoyed anything __**with**__ him._

An hour later, he was at Nathan's tiny house on the north side of Miami.

_Hmm, it is a little on the small side, but I'd gladly take it, _Jackson thought to himself as he explored the small cottage. It was only about 800 square feet. There was a small kitchen, surprisingly clear considering a teen lived here. The living room, with surprisingly tasteful red and tan furniture seemed somehow inviting. The bathroom was, well, a bathroom. The bedroom as in subdued blues and grays. The king sized bed pushed the limits of what could fit in the room. It as somehow comforting that it was somewhat cluttered and messy, unlike the rest of the nearly sterile house.

He was startled by the sound of the house phone ringing. He went over and answered it. It was a collect call from Nathan Atherton's mother, from a women's correctional facility. Against his better judgment, he accepted the call. A cultured but slightly shrill voice came over the line , " Nathan? Son, are you there?"

" Yeah, I'm here Mom. What do you need?" he asked. According to Nathan's memories, his mom almost never called unless she needed money, which as virtually always.

Sure enough, " I need you to get cracking on an appeal layer for me son. Unless you want me going to the electric chair for something your dad forced me to do."

Another quick look through Nathan's memories put that lie to rest. He replied exactly as Nathan would have: " No way. You and Dad are guilty as hell and I'm not gonna lose what little I managed to hold onto to fight a losing battle for you. I'm not doing it for you and I'm not doing it for him."

"You listen to me you ungrateful little bastard," his mother screeched like a suddenly sodomized siren, " I sacrificed my youth for you and that idiot sperm donor of yours! If you think you can just walk away with the money from MY house then you're in for one hell of a surprise!"

Enough as enough. " I love you too Mom." Jackson said, then hung up on the harridan. _These people are certifiably crazy; you don't threaten anyone over a Prison phone, much less your own son. Oh well, time for Nate to go to work._

For the next two days, everything seemed to be going all right. Nathan had very few friends, but he was on speaking terms with a broad variety of people. He wasn't lonely. The job was actually sort of fun at times. And he really loved getting to drive Nathan's car, a peppy 300ZX.

He was really late coming home that night. One of the other couriers had called in sick and he had offered to handle both routes to make some extra money. He as dirt tired and that may have explained how he didn't realize the light Nathan usually left on in the bathroom, which lit up the living area just enough to see dimly, as off. He had turned and dead bolted the door when a powerful set of arms grabbed him. One of them went across his face, holding a rag to his nose and mouth. Jackson took a page from his street days and threw the rulebook out the window. He bit with all his might.

And was slammed headfirst into the all so hard he felt the sheetrock crumble under the blow.

" Damn, he fucking bit me!" came a gravely voice. Jackson started to pick himself up when a huge body emerged from the shadow and sent a kick right into his face, sending his on his ass painfully. He felt a tremendous weight land on him. It was the first guy. He slammed his fist into Jackson's stomach, forcing the air out. As Cody Jackson fought to breath, the rag of chloroform was shoved into his face.

The second man spoke, " Hurry up! That detective who was here earlier may come back and the last thing e need is to wake the neighbor hood up by killing him here."

" All right, all right. After the way the fucker bit me, I'll be glad to whack him. Maybe when his parents get the life insurance money, it'll all be worth it."

With his last conscious thoughts, Jackson wished to be away.

He thought it would be hard to top what was happening until he realized that he was standing in the back hallway of a mall, watching as the body he had just jumped into, that of Dayton Moore was watching as five of his friends were about to rape a teenaged girl.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Rampage Averted; Love Confessed; Magical Encounter, Oh My!

_No fucking way am I just standing here and letting this girl get raped in front of me, _Cody Jackson's thought raced as he watched Zach, Dayton's best friend shoved Tina, the young woman viciously back into the closet. Two of the other teen had grabbed Dayton when he'd tried to intervene, but they weren't dealing with Dayton, who was alone and frightened. They were dealing with a pissed off Jackson and he wasn't afraid of getting hurt to try to stop _**this**_ sort of bull.

He went limp so fast that the two holding him both stumbled. In a flash, he twisted and pulled away, getting back just far enough to kick the larger of the two right in the crotch. A left hand shot out and landed on the smaller one's nose with a sickening crunch. The other three young men stared in shock as Jackson roared at the girl, ho had managed to pull free from Zack in the confusion: "Go!"

Tina slithered by, barely dodging a restraining arm from Zack's closest crony. One of the battered twosome tried to trip her, but a knee to the head put him back down hard. And that proved to be Jackson's undoing as Zack's right hit him under the jaw with a huge impact. He was dazed enough that he couldn't fight off the four strong hands that grabbed him and pulled him into the room.

They held him up for Zack to spit into his face, cursing: " You fucking asshole! You just had to ruin my fun, didn't you?" He kicked Jackson in the groin . He tried to double up from the pain, but the other two held him up. " You want to be a hero, " Zack sneered at him as the other to boys came in and closed the door behind them, " Then let's give you what heroes usually get. " And with that, the beating of Jackson's life began.

He willed himself away just as he heard the door behind him fly open with the unmistakable bang of gunfire.

This time, the translation seemed to take forever. And when he opened his eyes he was in the body of Damon Young. He was angrily walking off from a young woman who meant the world to him, an aspiring young gymnast named Emily Kmetko. Damon had just admitted how much he loved and cared for her only to be spurned for what he angrily swore would be the last time. He was about to leave for Los Angeles for a while as he had finally sold a couple of songs to a local band there.

As he walked away, Jackson looked into the memories that belonged to the body he was now inhabiting. There was definitely a tinge of irony in the situation. _Man, I finally get where Mel's been coming from. Damon would do just about anything to have Emily admit she love him and be with him, but she keeps putting up one all after another. I've been doing the same thing with Mel. _It as the first time he had really thought about Melissa Wu since his journey had began and it was actually surprising him at just how much he was starting to miss her. At how strongly he felt for a teenage girl he'd barely known until they had crashed on a desert island together with the others.

He made the decision for Damon that he knew he should have made for himself when Mel's feelings for him had become known. He turned around and headed to the Rock, knowing that he'd find her there if anywhere.

And he did. Just in time to see her fall off the balance bars, distracted by his very presence. He ran over to try to help the solidly built brunette up off the floor. She slapped his offered hand away as though he had slime dripping from it.

" I don't need you, remember? That's what you've been so quick to say to me for weeks now isn't it?" She had the reddened eyes of someone who had been recently crying . Her voice, normally a throaty contralto, was now a rasp. " Just leave."

Without a word, and feeling slightly like he was somehow betraying Mel, he leaned in and did what Damon should have done. He ignored the pushing arms and kissed her, with all of the considerable passion Damon felt for her.

Then and only then did he speak. " I'm not running away. Until you finally see how much I need you, I'm staying right here."

_I get the point Tagoaloa -savali. I had a good life where I was and it's time to get back to it._

_**Took you long enough to realize that young one, **_came the booming reply. Jackson felt the tug that signaled the jump home, but at the last instant, he felt inextricably pulled somehow sideways.

And the next thing he knew, he was looking at himself.

Or rather, yet another version of himself. And this one may have been the closest physical match of all. Even if he was dressed, ell, kind of dorky.

He supposed the dark blue jeans were ok, and the haircut was the exact same as Jackson's own, down to the highlights. But the Merlin shirt as something Jackson would have never picked out. Especially as it was bright purple and gold. Almost blinding in fact.

" Wow!, It worked! I brought someone from another Earth here." Danny Sinclair said excitedly, flipping the wooden and into the air in his glee.

" Who the heck are you?" Jackson said, concerned. If this goofball could interfere with a Samoan deity, then he was obviously more dangerous than he looked, because he seemed to have all of the nerdy qualities of Lex Marin and Nathan McHugh and none of the better ones.

" Oh, sorry. I'm Danny, Danny Sinclair and I'm a wizard."

" Ok. I believe you."

" YOU DO?! I mean, you do? Oh, I was afraid you'd be mad. At me shortstopping you. Tagoaloa-savali said it's be ok."

Confused, Jackson demanded an explanation, "Just what do you want Danny? I'm ready to go home. And ho do you know the Messenger?"

" Oh, I carry on conversations with the old deities all the time. I'm the greatest wizard of this ages." He blushed, " Well , potentially anyway. Anyhow, I owed Tagaoloa-savali a favor. He helped me out with a ghost problem and I found a spell he said would be useful on your world." He pointed at the cross medallion on Jackson's neck. " May I see that?"

Jackson handed it to him without a word. His tin pointed the and at it and mumbled for a few moments. The cross glowed like a small star for a moment, then went back to normal.

Jackson asked: " What was that for?"

Danny replied: " It's a one time spell. It lets you channel positive emotions. You have to be pure in mind and body to use it."

Jackson thought to himself, _What' the point then? I've done drugs, alcohol and had sex. I'm not pure. I don't get it._

Danny looked at him a smile, " Ready to go?"

Jackson shook his head. " Good bye then."

And then he was back in the cave of Tagoaloa-savali, on the island they had crashed on .


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The Reasons Why

Cody Jackosn looked around at the surrounding cave all as the voice of the messenger, Tagoaloa-savali filled the tiny chamber.

" **And now, of your own free ill, you have returned to your island of exile. While it seems to have been almost a month to you, only seven minutes of time as you reckon it has passed here, my child."** the Voice said enigmatically.

Jackson was _so _tired of enigmas. He exploded in anger. " Why?! Why send me to all of those places? Why put me in harm's way time after time after time? I was date raped and shot by Zack Powers. Kristy Wu's psycho ass killed me and Lex's twin, Allen. I barely managed to get poor damned Sam to help himself. Nathan may be dead, if the guys his parents hired are more competent than they were. The last thing I heard as Dayton was gunfire after he'd got the shit beat out of him. Danny was just plain weird. Only one of them, Damon, had anything like a normal life and all experiencing it did was make me want to come back here . What was the fucking point?'

"**To make you stronger. For if this is truly where you wish to be, then in the times ahead, you will need strength as great as the heroes of old. For you will face the greatest horrors imaginable if you stay. The fate of all life will depend on the actions and inactions of you and your companions here. And the perils will be many. If you and they survive, you will never again be the youths you were."**

" What are you talking about? I still have to decide which Earth? I already told you , I wanted to be here." he said in confusion.

" **You shall make your choice after I show you what may very well happen on this Earth, Cody John Jackson. Behold!"**

And a flood of images smashed into Jackson's mind with the force of a tsunami.

Images of he, Mel, Eric and Abby being drugged and raped by Captain Russell. Of having to fufill the madman's wildest sexual fantasies as he murdered Ian, Jory and Abby in front of them on a mere whim.

Images of himself stabbing Russell in the neck over and over to protect Lex Marin from becoming the toy of the monstrous man.

Visions of he, Mel and Eric, of all people , in love with each other. Making love to one another.

Of a monster slashing Eric's throat and a desperate race to keep him alive.

Of an entire band of pirates, including a twin of Russell, raping and drugging them again. And of the ultimate threat of being used as a living weapon against Lex himself.

Of fighting alongside a a man whose photo he had seen on the wall of Big J's office at the church.

And of battling both Russells , one living , one dead while Lex lay dying on the floor of an ancient temple while waves of monsters battled to slay his lovers and friends while a monster nearly a mile high came to destroy them all.

He saw pain, death, desolation and despair in the future.

"**I can still send you back to Damon's world, It is not too late."**

" But I messed things up on almost every world." he said, fear gripping him tightly as the visions faded."

" **I told you, they would remember the actions you took as if they were their own: Look at what you have wrought Cody Jackson!"**

He saw Zack Power laughing as Noah flinched from the gun filled with blanks he'd just unloaded on him. He saw Noah attacking Zack so viciously only the timely intervention of Carmen Lopez and a large young man from the baseball team, Jason , kept him from crippling the boy. And he saw how Zack was arrested for the prank.

He saw Johnny Pacar laying in a hospital bed. Amazingly, he was being attended by Kristy Wu. She was telling him about Allen's broken arm and leg. She as also telling him how sorry she was and that she loved him.

He saw Sam celebrating his first month of being clean and sober and smiled as he saw it.

He saw Horatio Cane lowering a smoking gun as he shot the second of the two would be kidnappers as he dropped an unconscious but alive Nathan Atherton onto the dirt of the back yard.

He saw the utility room door fly open as a security guard, Barry Lewis , came in and shot Zach in the stomach . The other boy dropped to the floor as the shaking guard summoned the police and an ambulance for the battered but alive Dayton. A pale Tina watched from the doorway.

And he watched as Damon and Emily made love for the first time.

And he watched Danny Sinclair try for the tenth time to do a simple card trick without success.

Tagaloa-savali's voice boomed once more; **" Choose!"**

And he did, guided by his heart. " If I can find love here from Mel and even from Eric, then I'm staying here."

"**Then it is done. You have journeyed far. You have seen much, lost much and gained even more than you know. For the evils of men have set forth the greatest monsters of myth. They have no name but even as we speak, one of them has destroyed the greatest city on this world and there are a dozen more, including the Great Mother of beast awake as well. The ancient barriers are weakening and it is all bound up in the lives of the Russell brothers and the drugs they have brought forth from this island chain. You and your friends are little more than adult children , yet you are the hope of the gods themselves."**

" How? " How can a handful of us fight all of that? How the fuck do we fight monsters the size of mountains?"

The god laughed, "**With love. With courage, honor, cunning and bravery, but most important of all, with love. I am not the only one of the ancients who stands with you. There is one of us for each of you children and when the time is right, you shall be able to summon them forth for a boon. Hold out the cross your grandfather gave you."**

Jackson did so.

It floated from his hand and began to glow blue and white. Then it floated back to him. It felt faintly arm, but otherwise the same.

"**Three final gifts have I given to you, via this symbol of your chosen faith. When the time of your greatest need is upon you, you have to protect one who is as dear to you as your own child may be and you cannot help them, it will bring the only one who can to you. The second is that when your friends and loved ones cannot stand with you, you ill have yourself to turn to. And the final gift to you is that you shall not be burdened by hat has happened here. Until you stand upon the bones of my father, these memories shall not be remembered , but the strength you have gained will still be there."**

" I don't understand." Jackson said plaintively.

" **You will, in time. Now, go back to the jungle, where one of your future loves needs your guidance. Oh, " there was humor in the Voice, " tell him this, he's gonna get fried under that tree!' **

Five minutes later, Jackson was back in the storm. Everything suddenly went blank as lighting flared sun bright. And in that second, the memories of everything from the time he spotted the cave left.

He heard a voice, a familiar one cry out . He walked along and saw a familiar form hunched by a tree.

" You're gonna get fried standing under that tree." he told Eric McGorrill, who jumped up and, to his discomfort, hugged him.

" Where've you been? They want you back at camp." the skinny teen answered ,

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the end. The story, in condensed form , will be in Uncharted Island. Thanks you to my reviewers for your time and to you all for your patience. **


End file.
